Austrian man Felix Baumgartner to attempt highest-ever skydive from the edge of space

Austrian stunt co-ordinator, skydiver, helicopter pilot, B.A.S.E. jumper, and general daredevil Felix Baumgartner will be attempting to break four world records by jumping out of a balloon 36.5 kilometres above the earth

Austrian stunt co-ordinator, skydiver, helicopter pilot, B.A.S.E. jumper, and general daredevil Felix Baumgartner will be attempting to break four world records by jumping out of a balloon 36.5 kilometres above the earth.

Later this year, the 41-year-old hopes to complete the highest-ever freefall jump made by a human by plunging out of a specially designed balloon in the stratosphere.

The previous record was set in 1960 by Colonel Joe Kittinger, who is now working on the project with Red Bull, Mr. Baumgartner’s sponsor.

Mr. Baumgartner will be trying for four firsts with the jump: the altitude record for highest manned balloon flight, the altitude record for a freefall, the distance record for longest freefall, and the speed record for fastest freefall (possibly breaking the sound barrier with his body in the process).

But Mr. Baumgartner’s backers say it’s not all about record-setting. They’re also hoping to help develop better space suits, to help develop ways to cope with exposure to high-altitude acceleration, and to record the effects of supersonic acceleration on humans.

Mr. Baumgartner, who lives in Switzerland, started preparing for the jump in 2005

Red Bull has enlisted the help of Art Thompson, one of the engineers who helped to design the B-2 Stealth Bomber, as its technical director. With his help, they have designed a special suit for Mr. Baumgartner to wear – one that’s more durable and more flexible than an astronaut’s space suit.

And his suit has to be durable. According to their website, Red Bull says even a small tear in his suit could be catastrophic at the altitude he hopes to reach. Unexposed, Mr. Baumgartner could experience ebullism, or bubbles forming in his bodily fluids due to the extreme drop in pressure. In short, his blood could literally boil.

He will carry a pack of equipment on his chest during the jump that will contain a voice monitor, GPS beacon, a high-definition camera, and an inertia-measuring unit, which will monitor and transmit his altitude, pitch, angle, and spin.

The capsule and the balloon that will carry Mr. Baumgartner have both been specially designed for the flight.